Slowing down the skin's aging process is the fundamental problem of cosmetology. Until recently, it was believed that the skin began to age around the age of 40, when the first pronounced wrinkles appeared. And cosmetics mainly fought wrinkles. It is now quite obvious that the skin aging process starts long before the visible signs appear and starts at the cellular level for about thirty years. Currently, researchers have a great scientific biomedical knowledge about the structure and functioning of the skin, oxidative stress and its causes, intracellular mechanisms of adaptation and repair, quality and intensity of intercellular interactions.
It's accepted for today,that skin aging is not just about visible signs: wrinkles, irregular pigmentation, gravitational sagging of the skin, dryness, etc. First, they are cellular and tissue signs of skin aging, changes in subtle processes that take place in the epidermis and dermis.
Aging mechanisms affect the most important cell organelles:
- DNA- the most important element of storing and implementing inherited information;
- mitochondria- a unique organelle to supply the cell with energy and ensure its survival in difficult conditions;
- cell membrane- regulator of signal transmission from outside and selective permeability of substances.
With any external influence on the skin, complex processes are launched in the skin cells - they exchange information and coordinate a joint response to external challenges. These processes are very active in youth. But with age, they disappear, there is a certain imbalance of internal processes and the skin begins to age. This raises the question of how to help the skin effectively resist aging in youth, maturity and old age.
All theories describing the mechanisms of skin aging, and there are over 300 of them, can be divided into two major groups - aging based on internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) factors. Endogenous aging is caused by information encoded in our DNA and there is still no way to influence this aspect. Exogenous aging is the total result of the cumulative effect of aggressive environmental factors, including ultraviolet and infrared radiation, ozone from urban pollution, cigarette smoke, etc. A notable shift in the study of aging processes from external factors took place at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Now, no one doubts the fact that external factors determine 60-80% of the total aging volume (data for facial skin). Ultraviolet is recognized as the most dangerous.
Signs of Aging Skin in Numbers
Age-related changes often appear externally and signs of skin aging can be noticed. Here is a list of the most common skin changes and their appearance. Research in recent years has made it possible to calculate many of the aging processes in numbers.
- The collagen content in the dermis, necessary to guarantee the skin's resistance, drops 1% every year from the age of 30 onwards.
- After 40 years, the skin becomes thinner by 1% a year.
- A skin cell restores 10, 000 to 100, 000 DNA mutations in a day, and 2 hours of sun exposure provides up to 1 million mutations.
- 15 minutes of sun exposure depletes the skin's own antioxidant reserves (mainly vitamins C and E) by 70-90%, which requires at least 2 hours to recover.
- Of all protein synthesized in the cell, 40% is produced with errors - an uninterrupted functioning of cellular mechanisms is necessary for its use and processing.
- In total, the body contains about 15 g of hyaluronic acid, of which 10 g falls on the skin. A complete renewal of all the hyaluronic acid takes place in the body in three (! ) Days - any failure of the skin cells to work for the synthesis of hyaluronic acid turns into a micro-catastrophe for the skin.
- Decreased elasticity of the stratum corneum and epidermis. With age, the stratum corneum becomes thicker, and the upper layer, on the contrary, becomes thinner (from 30 to 70 years - twice). The firmness of the skin decreases and the skin becomes opaque.
- Reducing the amount of water in the stratum corneum. With age, the amount of water in the skin changes: 75-70% by age 25 to 63-65% in older people. The skin becomes dry, less dense and the skin's sensitivity increases.
- Increased skin pigmentation. Over time, due to the negative effects of the sun, age spots appear on the skin.
- With age, the activity of the sebaceous glands decreases. As a result, the skin is drier and more vulnerable to free radicals.
The main reason for skin aging is a decrease in repair rate.
All skin functions and regenerative processes are preserved in humans, even in extreme old age. Problem is, their speed is slowing down. If young skin is able to react to a negative impulse and stop its adverse effects within 12 hours, older skin will need 30 hours. Thus, it is obvious that in an elderly person the recovery processes are extremely slow. In other words, the intact skin of a young person and an elderly person is equally effective as a barrier and protection. The differences become clearly noticeable when the skin is damaged and the need to restore destroyed structures and mechanisms. Considering that our skin is in conditions of continuous aggression from external factors, the older the age, the more intensely the snowball of destruction and "untreated" damage grows. That is, mature skin doesn't have time to deal with the damage, and it builds up and appears as outward signs of aging. That is, all signs of aging are "untreated" skin lesions.
Stages of age-related changes in skin and care characteristics
young skin is differenthigh content of "youth molecules" themselves, high intensity of recovery processes. Young skin is much denser than mature skin, it is more elastic, its structural fibers, collagen and elastin, are ordered. The cell renewal fee is approximately 28 days. The first age-related skin changes begin to occur after the age of 25 years. Therefore, the main focus in cosmetics for this age group is protection and prevention. Includes protection against ultraviolet radiation, support of the skin's fluid and lipid balance, mandatory use of various antioxidants.
mature skin is differenta decrease in the content of "youth molecules" and a slowdown in recovery processes. Daily stress becomes more traumatic and destructive to the skin. The signs of aging skin begin to appear externally in the form of wrinkles, crow's feet around the eyes, sagging skin on the cheekbones and chin. Here, anti-aging cosmetics must provide not only protection, but also support for their own processes (protection and maintenance cosmetics). The use of substances to maintain cell life (protection of cell membranes, DNA and mitochondria), enhance the synthesis of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid is a topic. It is necessary to strengthen and maintain a high intensity of intercellular communication with the help of regulatory peptides and growth factors.
in old age,massive deficit of recovery mechanisms. The rate of skin cell renewal after 55 years of age is very low and is already 3-4 months (28 days before 25 years). This occurs in an unfavorable context of "untreated" injuries that have already accumulated. The signs of skin aging become more pronounced - the number and depth of wrinkles increase, the skin becomes drier and opaque. Anti-aging cosmetics of this age are protection, support and replacement of the lost. Active substances from both previous age groups and your own can be used - bioflavonoids with phytoestrogenic activity (to replace the level of your own estrogens), cholesterol in a special proportion with ceramides and fatty acids to replenish the lipid barrier, intradermal moisturizers, anti - inflammatory and vascular stabilizing components.
Each of us is different. However, the processes that take place in our skin are determined by nature in the same way for everyone. Including the skin aging process. At each age, the degree of manifestation of certain changes is different. Take a look at yourself. Maybe you notice some changes today. So it's time to act! It is important to select beauty products according to the age and needs of the skin at each stage of life.
Specialized skin care products and treatments will help slow down the skin's aging process and keep it looking youthful for years to come. In the plethora of variety of cosmetics and procedures today, women of any age group can choose the anti-aging products that are right for them.